Try unlimited access
Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT
Only
$1 for 4 weeks
Explore our subscriptions
Individual
Find the plan that suits you best.
Group
Premium access for businesses and educational institutions.
Read More
Sweden has recently warned against decoupling its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) from Finland’s. The Swedish government fears that doing so could lead to an increase in belligerent behaviour towards Finland by Russia.
Recently, members of the Swedish parliament have expressed increased concern over Russia’s aggression towards Finland. Russia is perceived, by many, as a growing threat to Finland’s security due to its increasingly hostile military exercises in the region. As such, Sweden has been quick to advocate for Finland’s membership in the NATO alliance and has pledged its support in making it happen.
By explicitly stating that it would prefer if Sweden and Finland’s applications to join NATO remained linked, the Swedish government highlights the strength of the unique alliance between the two nations. It follows that, both nations entering the alliance would be beneficial for the increased safety of the region, particularly if the two joined simultaneously.
Despite this show of solidarity, the reality is that Sweden’s NATO bid has come under increasing fire from Moscow, who have accused Sweden and Finland of using NATO membership as a tool to gain leverage against Russia. To this end, it has been suggested that the two countries should decouple their applications to the alliance in order to make it more acceptable to the Kremlin.
Despite this, the Swedish Foreign Minister has insisted that this is not the way forward, noting that by decoupling the applications the risk of a military confrontation could actually increase, rather than decrease. Furthermore, the Swedish government is adamant that Finland’s NATO application should not be used as a bargaining chip to gain concessions from Russia.
It appears, then, that while the Swedish government is willing to work with Moscow to de-escalate the current situation, it will not abandon its commitment to Finland’s NATO bid. As such, the Swedish government has issued a strong warning against any attempts to decouple the two countries’ applications to the alliance. It is a warning it is likely to remain firm on.
